Illinois Schools & Education

Public school metrics and education data for all 102 counties.

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

Avg Graduation Rate

88.8%

Avg Per-Pupil Spending

$9,250

Avg School Score

63/100

Total Schools

4,408

962 districts

State Overview

About Schools in Illinois

This summary is generated from the NCES metrics shown on this page and reviewed against the source data by the Data Editor. It is not school advice.

High Graduation Rates at Low Costs

Illinois outperforms the national graduation average of 87.0% by nearly two points, reaching 88.8% statewide. The state achieves this while spending just $9,250 per pupil, significantly less than the national average of $13,000.

A Divide Across 102 Counties

Educational outcomes vary widely across the state's 102 counties, with graduation rates ranging from 97.0% in Edwards County to 73.9% in Winnebago County. Funding disparities are equally stark, as Lake County invests $12,962 per student while Clay County spends only $6,365.

State Score Context

How Illinois Counties Are Distributed

102 of 102 counties have enough NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data to receive a county school score. Use this distribution to understand whether the state has a concentrated cluster of high, midrange, or lower measured signals.

Scored county coverage

Counties with complete enough data for the composite score

100%

Higher measured signal

Score range 70-100

Midrange measured signal

Score range 40-69

Lower measured signal

Score range 0-39

Scores are comparative signals from available federal data, not ratings of individual schools.

Best school counties

Best Counties for Public School Research in Illinois

For a first-pass answer to parent searches about where the best schools are in Illinois, start with county-level evidence, then open individual school and district records. SchoolsByCounty ranks counties by public education signals, not by private opinions or paid school ratings.

Short answer for Illinois

Douglas County is the strongest county-level starting point in Illinois by the current SchoolsByCounty score, with a measured school signal of 89/100. This is a county comparison signal, not a promise that every school in the county is the best fit for every family.

Ranking methodology

102 of 102 counties have enough federal education data for a county school score. The ranking favors counties with stronger available graduation-rate and school-finance signals, then asks parents to verify individual school fit locally. The table below should help parents choose what to compare next; it should not replace attendance-boundary checks, program eligibility, commute, services, or direct district confirmation.

State average per-pupil spending in this dataset: $9,250.

Top measured county school signals

Ranked by the county school score where enough federal data is available.

1Douglas CountyGraduation 96.2% · Spending $9,78889/100 2DuPage CountyGraduation 94.3% · Spending $12,34989/100 3Edwards CountyGraduation 97.0% · Spending $9,35489/100 4Livingston CountyGraduation 94.7% · Spending $11,23989/100 5Johnson CountyGraduation 96.3% · Spending $9,43588/100 6Hardin CountyGraduation 95.0% · Spending N/A88/100 7Brown CountyGraduation 95.0% · Spending $9,30984/100

Graduation-focused starting point

Edwards County

97.0%

Edwards County has the strongest reported county graduation-rate signal in Illinois. Use this as a broad county context, then review individual high-school records.

Funding context to inspect

Lake County

$12,962

Lake County reports the highest per-pupil spending among counties with available data. Higher spending is context, not a guarantee of student fit.

Counties to research carefully

Clay County

18/100

Clay County has one of the lowest measured county school signals in Illinois. Review missing data, district context, and individual school records before drawing conclusions.

District research

Compare Illinois public school districts before narrowing by address

Illinois has 962 public school district records and 4,408 school records in the NCES file. Use the district hub to sort large district systems by enrollment, school count, county context, and generated district-guide coverage.

View District Rankings

Regional comparison guides

Compare Illinois Counties in Real Relocation Shortlists

These static guides connect Illinois county profiles to common metro-area school decisions. Each guide gives a direct answer, side-by-side NCES metrics, and links back into county profiles for deeper school and district research.

Chicago area

How do Cook, DuPage, and Lake counties compare for school research?

Compare Chicago-area public school metrics for Cook, DuPage, and Lake counties, including school score, graduation, and spending.

Open guide

Custom comparison

Build a three-county school comparison

Compare any Illinois county with other county profiles using the same school score, graduation-rate, and spending fields.

Open compare tool

All Illinois Counties

County-level school score, graduation rate, and per-pupil spending for Illinois.
County	School Score	Graduation Rate	Per-Pupil Spending
Douglas County Graduation 96.2% Per pupil $9,788	89/100	96.2%	$9,788
DuPage County Graduation 94.3% Per pupil $12,349	89/100	94.3%	$12,349
Edwards County Graduation 97.0% Per pupil $9,354	89/100	97.0%	$9,354
Livingston County Graduation 94.7% Per pupil $11,239	89/100	94.7%	$11,239
Johnson County Graduation 96.3% Per pupil $9,435	88/100	96.3%	$9,435
Hardin County Graduation 95.0% Per pupil —	88/100	95.0%	—
Brown County Graduation 95.0% Per pupil $9,309	84/100	95.0%	$9,309
McHenry County Graduation 93.5% Per pupil $10,347	84/100	93.5%	$10,347
Ogle County Graduation 93.9% Per pupil $9,877	83/100	93.9%	$9,877
Hamilton County Graduation 97.0% Per pupil $8,241	82/100	97.0%	$8,241
Gallatin County Graduation 95.0% Per pupil $8,862	82/100	95.0%	$8,862
Kendall County Graduation 95.0% Per pupil $8,762	81/100	95.0%	$8,762
Carroll County Graduation 93.4% Per pupil $9,688	81/100	93.4%	$9,688
Pulaski County Graduation 92.6% Per pupil $10,361	81/100	92.6%	$10,361
Boone County Graduation 92.0% Per pupil $11,420	80/100	92.0%	$11,420
Jo Daviess County Graduation 91.9% Per pupil $12,337	79/100	91.9%	$12,337
Coles County Graduation 94.0% Per pupil $8,691	78/100	94.0%	$8,691
Woodford County Graduation 94.6% Per pupil $8,387	77/100	94.6%	$8,387
Iroquois County Graduation 92.1% Per pupil $9,549	77/100	92.1%	$9,549
McLean County Graduation 91.9% Per pupil $10,294	76/100	91.9%	$10,294
Lake County Graduation 90.6% Per pupil $12,962	76/100	90.6%	$12,962
Jasper County Graduation 92.0% Per pupil $9,680	76/100	92.0%	$9,680
Mercer County Graduation 92.4% Per pupil $9,158	76/100	92.4%	$9,158
Greene County Graduation 94.0% Per pupil $8,333	76/100	94.0%	$8,333
Will County Graduation 91.1% Per pupil $10,626	75/100	91.1%	$10,626
Bond County Graduation 91.6% Per pupil $10,049	75/100	91.6%	$10,049
Warren County Graduation 93.8% Per pupil $8,300	75/100	93.8%	$8,300
Washington County Graduation 93.0% Per pupil $8,616	75/100	93.0%	$8,616
Moultrie County Graduation 96.2% Per pupil $7,638	74/100	96.2%	$7,638
White County Graduation 92.8% Per pupil $8,626	74/100	92.8%	$8,626
Perry County Graduation 92.0% Per pupil $8,921	72/100	92.0%	$8,921
Kankakee County Graduation 91.7% Per pupil $9,337	72/100	91.7%	$9,337
Stark County Graduation 92.0% Per pupil $8,732	71/100	92.0%	$8,732
Grundy County Graduation 93.6% Per pupil $7,910	71/100	93.6%	$7,910
Scott County Graduation 90.9% Per pupil $9,623	70/100	90.9%	$9,623
Alexander County Graduation 90.0% Per pupil $10,392	70/100	90.0%	$10,392
Schuyler County Graduation 92.0% Per pupil $8,124	67/100	92.0%	$8,124
Christian County Graduation 90.9% Per pupil $8,748	66/100	90.9%	$8,748
Piatt County Graduation 89.9% Per pupil $9,561	66/100	89.9%	$9,561
Union County Graduation 89.8% Per pupil $9,527	66/100	89.8%	$9,527
DeKalb County Graduation 89.8% Per pupil $9,471	66/100	89.8%	$9,471
Edgar County Graduation 92.2% Per pupil $7,843	66/100	92.2%	$7,843
Monroe County Graduation 92.3% Per pupil $7,825	66/100	92.3%	$7,825
Ford County Graduation 88.2% Per pupil $10,551	65/100	88.2%	$10,551
Shelby County Graduation 91.1% Per pupil $8,457	65/100	91.1%	$8,457
McDonough County Graduation 88.4% Per pupil $10,144	65/100	88.4%	$10,144
Jackson County Graduation 87.5% Per pupil $10,788	64/100	87.5%	$10,788
Tazewell County Graduation 89.8% Per pupil $9,092	64/100	89.8%	$9,092
Henry County Graduation 91.0% Per pupil $8,290	63/100	91.0%	$8,290
Putnam County Graduation 87.0% Per pupil $11,001	63/100	87.0%	$11,001
Rock Island County Graduation 88.9% Per pupil $9,392	63/100	88.9%	$9,392
Whiteside County Graduation 88.3% Per pupil $9,657	63/100	88.3%	$9,657
Clark County Graduation 90.7% Per pupil $8,288	62/100	90.7%	$8,288
Montgomery County Graduation 87.9% Per pupil $9,915	62/100	87.9%	$9,915
St. Clair County Graduation 86.4% Per pupil $11,133	61/100	86.4%	$11,133
Macoupin County Graduation 88.5% Per pupil $9,184	61/100	88.5%	$9,184
Jefferson County Graduation 86.6% Per pupil $10,642	60/100	86.6%	$10,642
Kane County Graduation 87.2% Per pupil $9,684	60/100	87.2%	$9,684
Randolph County Graduation 88.2% Per pupil $8,967	59/100	88.2%	$8,967
De Witt County Graduation 86.2% Per pupil $10,354	59/100	86.2%	$10,354
LaSalle County Graduation 85.8% Per pupil $10,785	59/100	85.8%	$10,785
Richland County Graduation 92.0% Per pupil $7,431	59/100	92.0%	$7,431
Massac County Graduation 86.0% Per pupil $10,263	58/100	86.0%	$10,263
Cook County Graduation 84.1% Per pupil $12,158	58/100	84.1%	$12,158
Bureau County Graduation 85.8% Per pupil $10,385	58/100	85.8%	$10,385
Champaign County Graduation 86.5% Per pupil $9,770	58/100	86.5%	$9,770
Mason County Graduation 86.9% Per pupil $9,570	58/100	86.9%	$9,570
Knox County Graduation 87.0% Per pupil $9,339	57/100	87.0%	$9,339
Marshall County Graduation 88.9% Per pupil $8,384	57/100	88.9%	$8,384
Cumberland County Graduation 88.7% Per pupil $8,388	57/100	88.7%	$8,388
Saline County Graduation 87.6% Per pupil $8,727	56/100	87.6%	$8,727
Clinton County Graduation 88.2% Per pupil $8,454	56/100	88.2%	$8,454
Fulton County Graduation 88.5% Per pupil $8,259	55/100	88.5%	$8,259
Effingham County Graduation 91.4% Per pupil $7,388	55/100	91.4%	$7,388
Adams County Graduation 92.4% Per pupil $6,926	54/100	92.4%	$6,926
Crawford County Graduation 89.5% Per pupil $7,899	54/100	89.5%	$7,899
Fayette County Graduation 86.0% Per pupil $9,252	54/100	86.0%	$9,252
Franklin County Graduation 83.2% Per pupil $10,386	53/100	83.2%	$10,386
Logan County Graduation 82.0% Per pupil $10,348	52/100	82.0%	$10,348
Pike County Graduation 84.7% Per pupil $9,072	51/100	84.7%	$9,072
Lee County Graduation 82.8% Per pupil $9,731	51/100	82.8%	$9,731
Menard County Graduation 87.3% Per pupil $7,959	49/100	87.3%	$7,959
Henderson County Graduation 82.0% Per pupil $9,577	49/100	82.0%	$9,577
Calhoun County Graduation 85.6% Per pupil $8,471	49/100	85.6%	$8,471
Cass County Graduation 85.9% Per pupil $8,378	49/100	85.9%	$8,378
Vermilion County Graduation 80.4% Per pupil $9,929	49/100	80.4%	$9,929
Sangamon County Graduation 84.5% Per pupil $8,656	48/100	84.5%	$8,656
Jersey County Graduation 86.0% Per pupil $8,202	48/100	86.0%	$8,202
Peoria County Graduation 80.8% Per pupil $9,475	47/100	80.8%	$9,475
Pope County Graduation 84.0% Per pupil $8,556	47/100	84.0%	$8,556
Madison County Graduation 86.6% Per pupil $7,939	46/100	86.6%	$7,939
Winnebago County Graduation 73.9% Per pupil $10,148	45/100	73.9%	$10,148
Stephenson County Graduation 81.4% Per pupil $8,964	45/100	81.4%	$8,964
Hancock County Graduation 83.3% Per pupil $8,517	45/100	83.3%	$8,517
Marion County Graduation 82.3% Per pupil $8,386	43/100	82.3%	$8,386
Morgan County Graduation 76.5% Per pupil $9,063	43/100	76.5%	$9,063
Wabash County Graduation 77.0% Per pupil $8,660	41/100	77.0%	$8,660
Williamson County Graduation 84.7% Per pupil $7,479	37/100	84.7%	$7,479
Wayne County Graduation 79.9% Per pupil $7,981	37/100	79.9%	$7,981
Macon County Graduation 85.2% Per pupil $7,275	36/100	85.2%	$7,275
Lawrence County Graduation 81.0% Per pupil $7,529	32/100	81.0%	$7,529
Clay County Graduation 81.8% Per pupil $6,365	18/100	81.8%	$6,365

— = data not available for this county.

Compare county school profiles in Illinois

Use the comparison tool to review school scores, graduation rates, and spending side by side.

Compare Counties

Frequently Asked Questions About Illinois Schools

Which Illinois counties have the highest graduation rates?

Edwards County (97.0%), Hamilton County (97.0%), and Johnson County (96.3%) currently lead Illinois among counties with available NCES four-year adjusted cohort graduation-rate data. This answer is generated from the same dataset used in the county table and can change when federal data refreshes.

What is per-pupil spending like in Illinois?

Across Illinois counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $9,250. The highest current county values are Lake County ($12,962), DuPage County ($12,349), and Jo Daviess County ($12,337). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

Which regional school comparisons include Illinois counties?

Chicago area include Illinois counties in curated regional school comparisons. Use these guides for broad county shortlists, then verify school assignment and district rules locally.

What are the best school counties in Illinois?

Douglas County, DuPage County, Edwards County have the strongest measured county-level school signals in Illinois, based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data. These are county context rankings, not individual school ratings.

Which Illinois county has the strongest measured school score?

Douglas County has the highest school score in Illinois with a score of 89/100, based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data.

What is the average graduation rate in Illinois?

The average high school graduation rate across Illinois counties is 88.8%, based on NCES data.

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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